Spayed

[Bri1976]

I got my 6-7 month of calico spayed today around 9am. They gave her a collar & said to leave it on 10 days. Do I actually have to keep on for 10 days?
I had my previous cat spayed a year ago & she didn’t have a collar, but did perfectly fine.

 

[cat nap]

Hi Bri1976
I don't actually think you have to keep it on for 10 days.
But, having said that, we recently had some threads here, where the spay incisions did get infected, or opened up from either too much licking, or jumping, running and playing.
Is your kitten usually quite active?

Can you keep the collar on her for at least three days, and then reassess how the incision site looks?
Also, is the collar a soft one, or is it the plastic type.

Can you post a few photos of your kitten, and her incision site. That would help others to see it, too.
(you don't have to though, only if you want to.)

 

[Bri1976]

Yes she’s EXTREMELY playful. I know once this medicine wears off she will want to go back to being a little devil
I can try but I work tomorrow and the next day so there’s going to be a lot of time I can’t keep track of her. and I’ll try to post pictures of her & the incision (she starts growling when I try to) but thy gave her one of the hard plastic ones but I had the soft one so I changed it because she couldn’t walk at all in the other one, her feet kept getting caught in it.

 

[Bri1976]

Yeah, she won’t let me get a picture of the incision.

 

[cat nap]

Yes she’s EXTREMELY playful. I know once this medicine wears off she will want to go back to being a little devil
I can try but I work tomorrow and the next day so there’s going to be a lot of time I can’t keep track of her.

That's going to be tough. especially the "going back to acting" like a 'little devil' part.

(I do remember mine, too, at 5.5 months, were sleepy for the first few hours when they came home, and then back to their usual playful selves. And also like your other cat, no cones were given.)

and I’ll try to post pictures of her & the incision (she starts growling when I try to) but thy gave her one of the hard plastic ones but I had the soft one so I changed it because she couldn’t walk at all in the other one, her feet kept getting caught in it.

She looks so utterly adorable in her cone.
Wow, she is beautiful.

No problem if you cannot get a photo of the incision. Just take one for yourself, later, or whenever you can...so that you can compare it to each day...as it heals. If she growls...then probably better to do it only when awake, and only when she's feeling less groggy.

Not sure which cone is better for her,...the blue one does look soft, and then it prevents her peripheral vision, so she won't get spooked by anything right beside her.
If the other one is clear plastic...that one might, or might not be better...since she would be able to see more...but then "would that make her more, or less scared of things, around her? idk"
See how it goes and experiment with it, if you need to.
EDIT: Oh, I missed the part where her feet get caught in the other cone. Sounds like it's too big then.

Since you will be working tomorrow, then definitely leave it on her....so you don't have to worry about her opening up the incision.
Wow, again, she is so pretty.

 

[Bri1976]

So Clover is like 3 days post surgery & the poor baby is trying to itch like crazy... is there anything no I can do to help her? I know I can’t scratch it but like anything? I couldn’t imagine not being able to itch my surgery spot.

 

[cat nap]

The best thing to do is call your Vet, and ask them if just plain water, or some dilute saline water would be okay.
They usually don't want you to put anything on it, because it may cause infection.
If the incision looks good, then you probably don't have to even have her wear the cone for so long.
Does it look good to you...comparing it to your previous cat's incision.
Yeah, it's just so weird, that your previous cat didn't have a collar and was fine...but they gave a collar to your new girl.

 

[Ellis75]

You could try an ice pack or warm pack and see if that helps with her itching. Some cats are perfectly fine without the cone post surgery, while others immediately try to lick the incision and get it infected. A lot of vets will give you a cone just in case. If she's trying to itch, I would keep the cone on just to be safe.

 

[Bri1976]

She got her cone off while I was asleep last night so I’m sure she scratched it but it seemed perfectly fine when I looked at it.

 

[Bri1976]

I was finally able to get a picture of her incision. I feel like it doesn’t look the best but I’m not sure. It’s kinda puffy around the bottom of it. I don’t know whether to take her back to the vet tomorrow or not. Does it look okay?

 

[cat nap]

View attachment 373627
I was finally able to get a picture of her incision. I feel like it doesn’t look the best but I’m not sure. It’s kinda puffy around the bottom of it. I don’t know whether to take her back to the vet tomorrow or not. Does it look okay?

It looks okay to me.
A little blurry at the bottom of photo, so I'm not sure if you are seeing yellow pus, or just the skin scabbing over.
If it looks like there is yellow pus inside the incision, then take her in, but if only a scab...then it's okay.

(I've never seen a squiggly incision line, like that. Maybe that's something new, they are doing, to make it easier to flap the skin over to heal better, or to better be able to stitch it, or see it underneath. I did read that the incision heals side to side, so perhaps by doing it this way, it puts less stress on the incision, versus it being a straight line. Interesting.)

If you can, just email the photos to the Vet. They probably will have no problem looking at them.
I missed the part where you called her Clover. What a beautiful name, for a cat.

 

[Bri1976]

Well, I have to take her back to the vet in the morning because she got her collar off again & completely opened her wound. I mean the scab is completely gone except for one part. I see a whole line of pink tissue and I don’t know what to do tonight because I don’t want it to get infected overnight or anything.

 

[Willowy]

Looks very good. The lumpiness underneath is fine, that's just the internal stitches and her body's reaction to them. The white stuff is the glue coming off. I think she's healing very nicely!

Oops, saw the latest. That didn't last long! Yeah, the vet's going to have to have a look at that. It's been almost a week so maybe she just pulled the scab off and it's healed underneath, but definitely have the vet say that, not internet people just looking at a picture.

 

[Bri1976]

Oh yeah, I’m taking her back to the vet as soon as they open in the morning to see if it’s healed at all or if it’s still an open wound. I think it’s straight flesh honestly.
I’ve sent in a request for an appointment in the morning but I’m still calling at 8am.

 

[ladytimedramon]

Consider getting a cat onesie instead of the collar. After Deliah's surgeries it was much easier. Just make sure it has a drawstring neck, because one of the ones I got that didn't have a drawstring, Delilah wriggled out of. You would probably have to safety pin the neck.

The onesie allowed Delilah to do what she needed and wanted, including clean her tush, but she couldn't touch the incision. Below are pics of Delilah in the onesies. The pink was good but the donut one is the one she got out of.

 

[Bri1976]

I took her to the vet this morning about an hour ago, the vet said it looks good even though the stitches are out. He said to just keep the cone on for another 4-6 days to be on the safe side.

 

[Bri1976]

I know I keep posting a ton lol but it’s just so weird!
On my oldest cat Callie (grey) never got a cone when she was spayed, she never bothered it, the stitches never came out or anything.... but with Clover (calico) she has to keep her cone on, she still manages to get the stitches out, and the vet said everything looked good today but it looks a little gross like gooey around it but if there was anything wrong the vet would’ve told me this morning... is there anything I can gently wipe her incision with? Like around it to just clean it up a little.

 

[cat nap]

I know I keep posting a ton lol but it’s just so weird!
On my oldest cat Callie (grey) never got a cone when she was spayed, she never bothered it, the stitches never came out or anything.... but with Clover (calico) she has to keep her cone on, she still manages to get the stitches out, and the vet said everything looked good today but it looks a little gross like gooey around it but if there was anything wrong the vet would’ve told me this morning... is there anything I can gently wipe her incision with? Like around it to just clean it up a little.

Ahhh, I was so hoping that your Vet would tell you what you can use to gently wipe the area.
Or even give you some type of cream for healing.
It's what we pay our Vets, for,...for their professional advice.
Nothing wrong with phoning them and asking, especially since Clover was just seen by them.

(The problem is I can't really recommend anything, since the things I used to use, are no longer recommended due to them being too harsh, and they may cause tissue damage, even when diluted...though I've only seen this on opened abscesses, and I've also never used anything on a spay incision, before.)

This online article seems safe, but again it's always recommended to check with your Vet:
All About Incisions - Catwatch Newsletter
"If you need to clean discharge from around your cat’s incision, use a clean cloth or gauze slightly moistened with warm water and be very gentle. Avoid alcohol and hydrogen peroxide unless instructed by your veterinarian, as these products can cause discomfort and slow healing."....(source: taken from the article above)
I did read somewhere, that you can also use a bit of blue dawn dish soap, added to the water, (since they do use the blue dawn dish soap on kittens who have fleas, and are too young to use the topical meds.)
I would think that using a bit of salt in a glass of warm water, would be okay, too,...to clean the area.
rinsing again with clean warm water, to make sure nothing irritating, harsh, or toxic dries on the skin.

Glad you took her in. And that photo of your Callie and Clover is just adorable.
It looks like Clover is telling Callie all about her experience at the Vets.

 

[Willowy]

Basic saline solution is good for just about anything (1 tsp of salt and a pinch of baking soda per 2 cups of boiled water. Let it cool before using, of course!). Or you could just give her a couple minutes to clean herself, but you'd have to watch carefully to make sure she doesn't get too rough.

 

[Bri1976]

I feel like it’s not healing properly. It’s been okay all day but now I’m seeing light pink again...I think all they did was glue it shut again but she said it looked good. It’s the first time I’ve ever used them but everyone else in my family has & they’ve had no problems so maybe I’m just overthinking it?